If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. (Phil 2:1-4)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/103122.cfm
Being of one heart and one mind has never been easy for the church. Today is a particulary vicious time in ecclesiastical and political life. With so many bishops and priests and people in open disagreement with Pope Francis, the church seems to be on the verge of schism. The early church wasn’t much better, which is why we have so many pleas from Saint Paul calling believers to be united in heart and mind. Even the Lord prayed for us that we may all be one . . . so that the world might believe in the One whom God has sent. We still haven’t heeded the message.
These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
Monday, Week XXXI, Ordinary Time
